It's a good thing to keep at least some grenades in your squad. Explosives destroy cover, affect multiple targets, and do very consistent damage. You can use them to blow up cover and blast away, hurt clusters of enemies to finish them off in one turn. There's also situations later where enemies get right up near you and will kill you if you don't kill it, so having a grenade do reliable damage is a good thing. Finally, that reliable and consistent damage is also good for knocking off just enough health so you can stun the target.

I took your advice and took a couple of Alien Grenades on my last mission. A very nasty sectopod was hiding behind a wall and I couldn't get a shot at him. I remembered the grenade, pitch one up against the wall and blammo, no wall . And next turn, no Sectopod

Mr. Kato, I don't know what you do in real life in the military, but I can assure you, that you have a most excellent career ahead of you as a double-tapping sniper that kills pretty much everything that dares move within flight path of your bullets.

That, combined with my GF as a serious kick-ass assault lady that kills everything that DARES go near her, makes them pretty much unstoppable.

Once I got the mods to work JZ, it's pretty awesome. It's actually a lot harder now since you bet penalized for not shooting down the terror/abduction UFO's. But at least the mod lets you have the option to take them out.

@Razgon: yeah that sounds about right and remember to equip Kato with your best armor ok?

I got the game due to the forum effect and I am loving it way more than I should be right now. I seriously need to be playing and finishing AC Revolutions before the 30th.I cant seem to figure out where and how you customize your squad colors, and how do you swap out for a particular squad member or a S.H.I.V?

When the mission launch window pops up with the squad the game chose for you you can click on a squad member and then edit that person. In the edit screen is customize options where the colors reside. You can also remove a squad member by clicking on them and selecting remove which will free up a space for a different squaddie/shiv. You can also edit the soldiers from the barracks screen, just chose the one you want from the list of soldiers and edit away.

Sounds cool. Also interesting that there is that much access to the internal game database, but the developer being Firaxis this shouldn't be a surprise. His readme is quite extensive which is nice that the creator takes the time to explain all the changes. Looks like a pretty comprehensive mod as it tweaks quite a lot of things, so of course YMMV.

I've started to realize that trying to please every nation is a bad approach. I have to be willing to lose some, and not worry about chasing their panic meter. I had been selecting the location with the highest panic level during the abduction missions, which seemed like a good idea, but I was forgetting that the other 2 locations I didn't help increase in panic as a result. So now my situation board has about 1/2 the nations green to yellow, and the remainder red or out.

Some lessons learned from this first playthrough:- I neglected to fund advancements for my interceptors, which has resulted in a few escaped UFOs. The council doesn't like that. - I should've focused on supporting the nations with the highest contributions or strategic impact, and not worry about the others. - Overwatch is important. Not using it is the equivalent of having no covering fire, or no bounding overwatch. It also opens up more tactical options, like having a scout pull aliens into kill zones.

I got the game due to the forum effect and I am loving it way more than I should be right now. I seriously need to be playing and finishing AC Revolutions before the 30th.I cant seem to figure out where and how you customize your squad colors, and how do you swap out for a particular squad member or a S.H.I.V?

If you bought the game after release, I am not sure color customizing is an option. I thought that was a pre-order perk?

If the coloring is available to all, then on the unit screen where you adjust layouts, there'd be a Customize button and colors are within there. For me, beyond being fun, the colors just help me distinguish units at a glance if I follow some sort of theme. I dole out red to rookies, ala Star Trek's red-shirts. Others probably use red for Support units (I use white) etc.

I was able to handle a couple of separate Chrysalids on a terror mission by pulling the guys back and using multiple overwatch/reaction shots (mix of lasers/conventional). Funny moment where my sniper climbed a drain pipe up to a 2nd floor open restaurant. The Chrysalid opened a door and got just to the adjacent tile. I remembered what happened on that big UFO mission a few days back, so I got his butt back onto the street and put everyone else in overwatch (including two that were inside the building, 1st floor, and moving towards the street to help).

Everyone got through OK, and then my self-named Support guy - back on the roof a couple turns later - nailed a civilian-turned-zombie in a spray of green goo at point blank on the last turn.

While the game has "story missions," to me the best story is just hearing what happened in others folks' games, and sharing your own tales. Those are the best stories, imho, and it's really not one you can program. Even mine of having 3 chrysalids turn two of my squaddies into zombies and my lone standing support guy having run out of options, but meeting his evisceration without panic.

Here's another nagging question, now that I have two experienced support troops, with different smoke grenade upgrades -- one got the skill that greatly increases the smoke's defensive buff, the other got the "stimulant drugs" skill that means the smoke enhances the (I think) aim and crit % ratings of units in the smoke. The last one seems like it would fit more in Syndicate.

So the question: If you throw one type of upgraded smoke grenade on top of the other, do the modifiers "stack," or does the most recently tossed smoke grenade sort of "replace" the effects of the first one thrown? I can of course just test it out and see, but it might save me a little time if someone else ever tried it and can share some insight.

I didn't initially think much of smoke grenades, but as the game gets tougher, and I often discover a troop or two have moved a little far or bit off more than they can chew, it is nice to toss a smoke grenade on them to improve their survival chances.

If I'm remembering correctly, the Combat Drugs smoke grenade boosts Will and Crit. I'm not sure what Will does though. There's an officer's school perk that grants bonus will each level up for squad members too. I purchased it last night thinking, I have no idea what you do, but bonus anything at level up sounds good.

My 1st team usually runs with 2 support. One provides medic support with all of the healing related skills, and the other is more combat support, with the smoke grenade enhancements and suppression. I have 2 heavies, one suppression based, and the other more damage focused. 1 assault for closing with the enemy and clearing rear lines, and 1 sniper to reach out and touch any enemy.

I have enough ranked up folks from mission rewards to outfit a decent team 2 if things go badly for my vets. My one regret with skill selections is not taking gunslinger for my sniper. There have been many occasions where I could have used the extra pistol damage. The perk for being at higher elevation is ok, but sometimes that's just not possible given the terrain.

I'm confused about something. Kato says he's running a mod with the Second Wave "hidden options" unlocked. Yet I read somewhere (I visit so many damned forums, I can't find where I read it) that a Dev posted that the Second Wave options don't really exist. They were something Firaxis toyed with but didn't have time to implement.

So... what gives? Did I just read it wrong? (if someone can find that post from that dev, it would be helpful. I've scanned OO, Steam, GWJ, and QT3, and still can't find where I saw it)

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LD

"Let your enemies fear, for a harlequin of the Laughing God dances at your side."

I'm confused about something. Kato says he's running a mod with the Second Wave "hidden options" unlocked. Yet I read somewhere (I visit so many damned forums, I can't find where I read it) that a Dev posted that the Second Wave options don't really exist. They were something Firaxis toyed with but didn't have time to implement.

So... what gives? Did I just read it wrong? (if someone can find that post from that dev, it would be helpful. I've scanned OO, Steam, GWJ, and QT3, and still can't find where I saw it)

I installed a mod at Nexus Mods that enables me to use the second wave options. Second wave are disabled in the vanilla version if XCOM for unknown reasons at this time, but they work just fine when unlocked by the mod.I'm sure that in the future that the Devs will patch it in at some point without the use of mods.

If I'm remembering correctly, the Combat Drugs smoke grenade boosts Will and Crit. I'm not sure what Will does though. There's an officer's school perk that grants bonus will each level up for squad members too. I purchased it last night thinking, I have no idea what you do, but bonus anything at level up sounds good.

My 1st team usually runs with 2 support. One provides medic support with all of the healing related skills, and the other is more combat support, with the smoke grenade enhancements and suppression. I have 2 heavies, one suppression based, and the other more damage focused. 1 assault for closing with the enemy and clearing rear lines, and 1 sniper to reach out and touch any enemy.

I have enough ranked up folks from mission rewards to outfit a decent team 2 if things go badly for my vets. My one regret with skill selections is not taking gunslinger for my sniper. There have been many occasions where I could have used the extra pistol damage. The perk for being at higher elevation is ok, but sometimes that's just not possible given the terrain.

The interesting bit with the skill trees is that the perks don't always seem obvious. Like the heavy's boost to mechanical creature damage isn't useful right off. But it's totally useful later down the line.

Same with the sniper perk. That's all I can say. I just know that I'd never ever use a pistol anymore.

I personally run one heavy, two assaults (both with the same perks), two supports (both full medic tree and items, because, you know, they're medics), and one sniper. So far it has worked fantastically.

« Last Edit: October 16, 2012, 02:14:50 AM by Destructor »

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two supports (both full medic tree and items, because, you know, they're medics)

I've got three medic on staff. There's enough variation in the support skill tree (especially the extra three tile movement range skill) that I can use the medics for different functions when I have two on a squad. Also a useful skill is Deep Pockets, I can put Chintin armor on one of them so he/she can run out and heal in the front line with a little more protection.

I do wish the game gave a bit more specific feedback about what is blocking a rocket firing. Sometimes it's just a lamp post in the distance. Other times, maybe twice, my Heavy (only have one in my current Normal game) has knelt, promptly fired into the object next to himself, and blown himself up good. Which is hysterical, but in my Iron Man game, I pretty much wanted to cry.

It does warn you about friendly fire, but I think when the heavy blew himself up, I thought the friendly fire was splash damage against a squaddie in the distance.

I know they have lower AIM ability, but in a lot of cases, they don't hit anything unless they're firing a rocket. I've now just started using them for suppression, overwatch or the occasional close combat high probability hit.

July 1, 2015. Running a train over the aliens right now. Normal: Ironman.

Infiltrated the base, 22kills 0 Deaths 3 wounded (though I had to use all 6 health packs I had with me).

Love this game!

I don't understand how you get your screen this clear. I had mine close, with Japan and Egypt at level 3 and then wouldn't you know it, an abduction mission comes up with Japan and Egypt as two of the three choices. That meant that one of them was going to 5. I've built satellites when I can, but I am at a spot where I couldn't get a nexus built in time and I'm about to lose Egypt because I chose Japan for the abduction. It infuriates me that they would choose both of those countries for abduction sites. I actually tried reloading from an earlier save and it always picks the same three countries, so there is no way out of it.

Damn, the Hover SHIV is noisy. I play with the music off so I can listen intently and here's this thing sounding like a idling truck jet engine (which of course it is). Sheesh. Maybe I can mod that out.

I know they have lower AIM ability, but in a lot of cases, they don't hit anything unless they're firing a rocket. I've now just started using them for suppression, overwatch or the occasional close combat high probability hit.

Well, I don't launch a satellite until there's a place that is 3 or 4 on the panic scale and that immediately drops them a bit. I build satellites WELL ahead of time too so i have them when i need them.

Also, that screen grab is right after the first assault on an alien base...and that resulted in a worldwide reduction of 2 i believe.

Another helpful thing, is I've prioritized getting the chedda over more scientists and engineers. Having money to buy what you need when you need it is immensely helpful.

Did have a neat moment last night though. One of those spinny disk hunter killer things was on the prowl and dropped out of visual. I put my whole squad on Overwatch and it came up over a ledge and just got TOASTED.

Also, HOW DO YOU CHOOSE WHICH PERSON YOU HEAL WHEN YOU'RE IN RANGE TO HEAL MORE THAN ONE AT A TIME?

I can't seem to get my medic to switch between people...almost lost my Col. Sniper last night because of it.

Well, I don't launch a satellite until there's a place that is 3 or 4 on the panic scale and that immediately drops them a bit. I build satellites WELL ahead of time too so i have them when i need them.

Also, that screen grab is right after the first assault on an alien base...and that resulted in a worldwide reduction of 2 i believe.

Another helpful thing, is I've prioritized getting the chedda over more scientists and engineers. Having money to buy what you need when you need it is immensely helpful.

I am earlier in the game than you, but for a bit I was stuck not having enough engineers to build a nexus. Now to build the next one, I am stuck not having enough engineers (seems the cost went up). Combine that with how long they take, I have just been behind. I still wonder if Japan and Egypt both being abduction sites was on purpose or horrible bad luck.

Well, I don't launch a satellite until there's a place that is 3 or 4 on the panic scale and that immediately drops them a bit. I build satellites WELL ahead of time too so i have them when i need them.

Also, that screen grab is right after the first assault on an alien base...and that resulted in a worldwide reduction of 2 i believe.

Another helpful thing, is I've prioritized getting the chedda over more scientists and engineers. Having money to buy what you need when you need it is immensely helpful.

I am earlier in the game than you, but for a bit I was stuck not having enough engineers to build a nexus. Now to build the next one, I am stuck not having enough engineers (seems the cost went up). Combine that with how long they take, I have just been behind. I still wonder if Japan and Egypt both being abduction sites was on purpose or horrible bad luck.

Well, I don't launch a satellite until there's a place that is 3 or 4 on the panic scale and that immediately drops them a bit. I build satellites WELL ahead of time too so i have them when i need them.

Also, that screen grab is right after the first assault on an alien base...and that resulted in a worldwide reduction of 2 i believe.

Another helpful thing, is I've prioritized getting the chedda over more scientists and engineers. Having money to buy what you need when you need it is immensely helpful.

I am earlier in the game than you, but for a bit I was stuck not having enough engineers to build a nexus. Now to build the next one, I am stuck not having enough engineers (seems the cost went up). Combine that with how long they take, I have just been behind. I still wonder if Japan and Egypt both being abduction sites was on purpose or horrible bad luck.

What do you mean by nexus? You mean uplink?

Yeah, although now that I think about it, maybe there is a nexus and an uplink and one supports 4 slots and the other 2. I may have clicked on the wrong one when I was looking to build another. At any rate, it's too late because the council will meet before I can get a new satellite up.

I don't understand how you get your screen this clear. I had mine close, with Japan and Egypt at level 3 and then wouldn't you know it, an abduction mission comes up with Japan and Egypt as two of the three choices. That meant that one of them was going to 5. I've built satellites when I can, but I am at a spot where I couldn't get a nexus built in time and I'm about to lose Egypt because I chose Japan for the abduction. It infuriates me that they would choose both of those countries for abduction sites. I actually tried reloading from an earlier save and it always picks the same three countries, so there is no way out of it.

Don't worry about it. Losing a few countries is not a big problem, and is for the most part expected. I've lost 5 in my game and I'm still going strong.